Apparatus for oiling fabrics prior to reduction to fiber



y 8, 1953 H. J. FAIRFIELD 2,646,774

APPARATUS FOR OILI-NG FABRICS PRIOR TO REDUCTION TO FIBER Filed Dec. 28, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR'.

HUGH a. FAIRFIELD HIS ATTY'S July 28, 1953 I H. J. FAIRFIELD 2 64 APPARATUS FOR OILING FABRICS PRIOR TO REDUCTION TO FIBER 62 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 28, 1950 FIG.4 6 8 HUGH J. FAIRF'IELD HIS ATTY'S Patented July 28, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR OILING FABRICS PRIOR TO REDUCTION T FIBER 1 Claim.

My invention relates to an. apparatus for the preparation of fabrics prior to their conversion to fibre, an object of my invention being to provide a device of the character herewithin described whereby fabrics such as old woolens, rags, tailor clippings, or any woven or knitted fabrics may be softened and fluffed up prior to their conversion to fibre by picking machines or the like.

Afurther object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which reduces considerably the amount of fiy normally occurring in the picking operation of fabrics.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which will permit relatively longer fibres to be obtained during the picking process thereby increasing considerably the quality of the resultant yarn formed therefrom.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a device of the characterherewithin described which ensures the efficient impregnation with oil of all the fibres within the fabrics to be converted.

. Still another object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which includes means to impregnate the fibres with oil by the use of live steam which tends to soften and make more pliable the fibres in the fabrics.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described, the use of which enables a tremendous saving of time and floor space to be made.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which is relatively economical in construction, simple in operation, and particularly well suited for the purpose for which it is designed. I

With the foregoing objects in view, and such other objects and advantages as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, my invention consistsiessentially in the arrangement and construction of parts all as hereinafter Figure 3 is a vertical section of the drum illus-' trated in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view sectioned in detail of the oil and steam supply nozzle and the drum stub-axle.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary end view of the drive means per se.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

In the process of reducing old Woolens, rags, tailor clippings and the like to fibre preparatory to the spinning of same into yarn to form what is conventionally known as shoddy, it is conventional practice to endeavour to impregnate the fibres of the material to be reduced, with oil in order to lubricate the fabrics and to prevent excess fibre breakage occurring to any large extent.

The conventional method of obtaining this result is to place a layer of the fabrics upon the fioor area thereupon spraying same with oil by hand or mechanically and then building up a further layer which, in turn, is sprayed and so on unti1 the desired depth is reached. The resultant mass is then left from between twelve and forty-eight hours to season and to permit the oil to penetrate the individual fibres. Due to the relatively large area required for this process, it is common practice for any plant to have more space for seasoning than it has for the resultant processing of the fabrics. Furthermore, this haphazard method of sprinkling oil upon the fabrics which have been layered'does not permit the penetration of oil to the fibres to an equal extent, consequently, when the fabrics are passing through the picking machine, it is quite usual to strike batches that are relatively wet with oil and then further batches which have not.

impregnated to any extent whatsoever.

The apparatus herein to be described overcomes these disadvantages inasmuch as equal impregnation of oil to each and every fibre is ensured and at the same time ensuring an exten-' sive saving of time and space to accomplish this concentrically disposed within the end walls 1 of the drum, are a pair of flanges 8 to which are secured stub-axles 9 and it. These stubaxles extend outwardly from the drum and are journalled for rotation within bearings H mounted upon the upper ends of supporting structure, collectively designated l2 and which, in this embodiment, takes the form of a pair of triangular frames l3 with the bearings H at the apices thereof.

Spur gears 14 are keyed to each of the stubaxles 9 and lil engageable with corresponding spur gears l5 carried upon a cross shaft iii which, in turn, may be driven from a pulley and belt combination ll from an associated source of power (not illustrated).

The interior of the drum is divided into two compartments i8 and is formed by a screen spanning the side walls of the drum substantially towards one end thereof. Access to compartment 1 2 of the drum is obtained by the aforementioned doors 2 and it is within. this coinpartment that the fabrics to be treated are loaded.

Means to facilitate the movement of fabrics within the drum during rotation thereof are provided within the compartment i9 and take the form of longitudinally extending tumbler bars 2| secured to the inner side walls 22 of the container and include flanged. portions 23 extending inwardly towards the centre of the drum.

I have provided means for introducing oil and steam to the interior of the drum during rotation and in this connection, reference is to be had to the aforementioned stub-axle specifically designated it which is shown in detail in Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings. Reference to this drawing will show that the stub-ax1e If; is drilled concentrically thus forming a hollow axle through which passes an inlet nozzle collectively designated as. This nozzle is also hollow and extends through the stub-axle It to the interior of the drum l within the compartment I8. Reference to Figure 8 of the accompanying drawings will show that this nozzle extends upwardly as at 25 within compartment is and then termi nates in an injector 26 upon the upper end thereof directed towards the screen 26.

The external portion 2? of the nozzle 24 is provided with a union 26 which is connected to a steam carrying conduit 29 extending to a source of steam (not illustrated) controlled v by turn cook 35.

The nozzle 2 is also connected by means of a union 3| to an oil carrying conduit 32 which extends between the nozzle 2d and a source of oil collectively designated 33.

Reference to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings will show the details of this oil supply which includes a hydraulic cylinder 3% mounted upon a common base and a piston 36 reciprocal therewithin. Said piston is concentrically drilled as at 3? and is connected to an upwardly extending hollow piston rod 38 the lower end of which communicates with the aforementioned aperture 3? within the piston 36.

After extending upwardly through cap 39 of the cylinder 34, the piston rod is surmounted by a cylinder filling means collectively designated H Cylinder filling means 423 includes a funnel 4! the lower end 42 of which communicates with a stop cook 43 which, in turn,'communicates with the upper end M of the aforementioned hollow piston rod 38.

A portion 45 of the piston rod is provided with rack teeth 46 engageable with a spur gear 41 secured to a transverse shaft 48 supported within bearings 49 mounted upon cap 39.

The outer end of shaft 48 is provided with a cable carrying drum 49' and a Windlass handie 58, a cable 5| extending over associated pulleys 52 terminating in a weight 53 freely suspended at the opposite end thereof.

Before proceeding with the operation of my device I desire to explain the operation of the oil feeding means hereinbefore described. The piston 36 and rod 38 are first raised to the upper limits of cylinder 34 by means of the handle 59. This turns spur gear 47 which, due to its engagement with rack teeth 46 on the piston rod, causes same to rise upwardly together with the cylinder filling means 45. At the same time cable 5! is wound upon drum 48' and weight 53 is raised. In order to maintain the assembly in this position, a conventional ratchet lever (not illustrated) may be incorporated with the aforementioned rack teeth at thereby snagging same in the upper position during filling.

Turn cook 53 is now opened and oil is poured within funnel ii passing downwardly through the piston rod 35, and through the piston 38 into the cylinder below. Turn cook 43 is'now shut and the aforementioned ratchet lever disengaged thereby permitting weight 53 to exert downward movement upon piston rod 38 and piston 36. This causes oil to flow along line 32, the amount passing into nozzle 24 being controlled by a further turn cock 5! situated at the end of the portion 27 of the nozzle 2 Proceeding now to describe the entire operation of my invention, the doors 2 are opened and a load of fabrics to be oiled are placed within compartment 19 of the container I. The doors are now closed and latched securely whereupon the drum is caused to rotate by means of the pulley l1 and the engagement of gears i5 with gears M. In this connection, it will be noted that although stub-axle Iii rotates within bear ing H, it also rotates around nozzle 24 which, of course, is stationary.

Turn cocks 5i and 3B are now opened to permit steam and oil to flow into the nozzle 2 under pressure thereafter being dispersed through injector as in a fine mist or spray and thence through the screen 26 to the fabrics within the drum.

The steam causes softening of the fabrics within the drum thereby permitting a better penetration of the oil particles and, due to the tumbling action engendered by means of the bars 2|, the oil and stream comes into contact with the surfaces of all the portions of fabrics therewithin.

It is desirable that the amount of oil passing through nozzle 24 during the processing of one batch of fabrics be between one percent to ten percent of the weight of the fabrics with sufllcient steam to soften the fabrics but not to dampen same excessively.

It has been found that with an approximate load within the drum of five hundred pounds of fabrics, a period of between twenty minutes and ninety minutes is desirable with a period of thirty minutes as an optimum being required in order to obtain the best results.

After being processed for the desired length of time, the rotation of the drum I is ceased, the doors opened and the fabrics unloaded ready for transferring to the picking machine.

I wish to stress that the resultant shoddyf produced from fibres obtained from fabrics treated as hereinbefore described, is superior in quality than that produced by the normal methods thereby resulting in a saving of the virgin wool normally mixed with the reclaimed fibres of some ten to fifteen percent.

I also desire to stress that this particular apparatus is suitable for the impregnation of fabrics having relatively tight fibres as well as knitted goods which have relatively loose fibres and that the conventional method of oiling is entirely unsatisfactory particularly on tight fibred materials.

Finally, it will be noted in connection with the pulley drive collectively designated I! that I have illustrated a lay-shaft 52 carrying spur gears 53' upon the ends thereof which, in turn, are engageable with the aforementioned spur gears l5. A conventional reversing head assembly 54 is associated with shaft 52, the rotation of which causes cross head 55 to reciprocate transversely carrying with it belt moving fork 56 journalled in bearings 51.

Three pulleys are illustrated upon shaft 52 in this embodiment, the central one 58 of which is keyed thereto. The two outer pulleys 59 and 50 are journalled freely for rotation upon shaft 52 and carry, alternatively, belts i and 62 which extend to conventional power-driven shafting (not illustrated). In this connection, it will be observed that belt 62 is reversed or crossed thus travelling in a different direction to belt 6|.

Due to the reciprocation of belt moving fork 56, belt 6| is, alternatively, moved from pulley 58 to pulley 59 and at the same time, belt 62 is moved from pulley 60 to pulley 58 thus causing an alternative reversal of rotation of shaft 52 and, consequently, of the drum 3.

By this means, the drum 3 is revolved first in one direction and then the other, thus causing the tumbler bars 2! to elevate the contents of the drum which then fall freely to the bottom thereof at the change of rotation which means that the fabrics within the drum fall through the mist of steam and oil therein thus assisting materially in the penetration of the fibres by the oil.

Since various modifications can be made in my invention as hereinabove described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claim without departing from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim as my invention is:

An apparatus for impregnating woven or knitted fabric material with textile lubricating oil preparatory to reduction of said material into fibres, said apparatus comprising in combination a supporting structure provided with a pair of spaced bearings, an elongated substantially horizontal container provided with a door in the side wall thereof and including first and second end walls, first and second coaxial stub shafts secured coaxially to the respective end walls and rotatably journalled in said bearings whereby said container is rotatably supported in said structure, a transverse partition screen mounted in said container adjacent the first end wall thereof and separating the interior of the container into a relatively small first chamber and a relatively large second chamber, said second chamber having said door in communication therewith and being adapted to receive material to be impregnated, a plurality of elongated tumbling bars secured lengthwise to the inner surface of said container in said second chamber and projecting inwardly therefrom, said tumbling bars extending longitudinally from said screen to said secondend. wall, said first stub shaft being provided with an axial bore, a stationary conduit extending through said bore into the first chamber and having an upwardly angulated inner end portion terminating in a tapered nozzle directed toward said screen, a coupling provided at the outer end of said conduit, a pipe connected to said coupling and communicating with a source of steam, a line also connected to said coupling and communicating with a source of textile lubricating oil under pressure, means for rotating said container alternately in opposite directions, and control means provided on said pipe and on said line for regulating the proportion of steam and oil whereby sufiicient amounts of steam and oil are intermixed in said coupling and discharged through said nozzle and through said screen into fabric material tumbled by said bars in said second chamber to soften but not excessively dampen the fibres thereof.

HUGH J. FAIRFIELD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 375,591 Alexander Dec. 27, 1887 604,086 Rising May 17, 1898 743,285 Hubartt Nov. 3, 1903 744,618 Robertson Nov. 1'7, 1903 1,886,170 Cruser Nov. 1, 1932 1,911,761 Loomis May 30, 1933 2,007,632 Blank et a1. July 9, 1935 2,034,592 Newman Mar. 17, 1936 2,404,450 Meyer July 23, 1946 2,528,594 Kahn Nov. '7, 1950 

